


Protector of those hurt by the world

by jaybyby



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Assassination Attempt(s), Protective Sam | Awesamdude, bc hes sleep deprived, because im trying my best, can you tell that im tryna not be biased against the syndicate, kind of a sick fic??? sam gets sick in it but only for like a few chapters, more tags to come, protective CaptainPuffy, therapist CaptainPuffy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:33:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29015169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaybyby/pseuds/jaybyby
Summary: BEFORE ANY OF YOU MOTHER FUCKERS DO LITERALLY ANYTHING REGARDING THIS FIC, READ THIS POSThttps://introvertedppl.tumblr.com/post/642038541781762048YOU MAY NOW CONTINUENiki and Fundy were confident that they would kill Tommyinnit. Everywhere he went he laid ruins and chaos.Yes, he was a child, but they weren't even two years older than him. Why shouldnt he be held to the same standards as them?And who the fuck is stopping all their assassination attempts?
Relationships: Awesamdude &; Cara | CaptainPuffy, Cara | CaptainPuffy/Niki | Nihachu, Floris | Fundy & Jack Manifold & Niki | Nihachu, Floris | Fundy & Niki | Nihachu, Jack Manifold & Niki | Nihachu, Sam | Awesamdude & TommyInnit
Comments: 88
Kudos: 723





	1. assassination attempt failed

**Author's Note:**

> might make this more than one chapter which is why the 1/? is there instead of just 1/1

* * *

* * *

Frustration was what Niki felt. Frustration and regret.

She wasn't angry at the world. She wasn't angry at herself, or Phil, or Wilbur, Techno, Dream, Schlatt, or _anyone_. She was _frustrated_ with them.

Frustrated by how they all led down to paths of discord and decay. Frustrated at how she was caught in the crossfire. Frustrated that justice has never truly been served. Dream is kept alive, and for what? To bring Wilbur back? He doesn't _want_ to come back. Techno escaped his execution with nothing but even more fear and respect to his name. Wilbur got to escape it all, as a ghost. Schlatt the same. Phil was never punished at all--

Well, he did _have_ house arrest, but it's not like that stupid ankle bracelet ever worked.

Next, she felt regret. Regret at not being able to stop Wilbur. Regret at not being able to reason with Techno. Regret at allowing Schlatt and Dream to abuse her and her kindness for so long.

And regret that she hadn't come to this realization sooner.

So when Techno had come to her asking to join his group (which, as long as it doesn't have any elected leader or technical council, still counts as an anarchist group, she supposed), she accepted greedily, and spilled a few words out on the way.

As Techno and Phil sat her down at the table (Niki almost puked the moment she got to the stronghold. She had a half enderman parent, after all. She could sense the great beast through the portal the two so ignorantly mistook for a table base) Phil asked her to tell him what she told Techno— he wanted to know her thoughts.

So she explained.

"Tommyinnit," she began slowly, choosing her words wisely; this was Tommy's father, after all, "is a threat to the DreamSMP. Every war here has sparked because of him, and yet he still goes around doing whatever he desires. It's unfair. He needs to be punished."

Phil narrowed his eyes at her and she stiffened— did she say something wrong? Phil began to speak.

"Okay. Then explain to me why the exile wasn't enough. Why loosing his brother wasn't enough. If you're going to be in this group, you have to have reason to your actions."

Niki's entire body sagged in slight relief at his words. She _wasn't_ about to be killed, thank god. And she knew her answer.

"Tommy's punishments consisted of abusive manipulation tactics and isolation, both of which never work when punishing someone. I would like to kill Tommyinnit, for his ghost to come back and realize his wrongdoings, as he's simply way too stubborn while alive. Besides, we have Dream; we can just bring Tommy back once he's shown he learned his lesson."

The winged man analyzed her expression thoughtfully, before smiling warmly at her and walking over, patting a hand on her back. "Perfect. There aren't many like ya, mate. Welcome to the team."

A wide smile formed on Niki's face, ear to ear, as she glanced from Phil to Techno, who just smirked at her and gave her a thumbs up.

Finally. Justice _will_ be served.

* * *

* * *

Apparently Fundy was also recruited for the syndicate, which was somehow as surprising as it was unsurprising. They were the same age, after all. He must've felt the same way that she did, feeling wronged by the system the adults of the server have created. They may both also be adults, but they literally _just_ turned 18. That barely counts.

And with that, they set out to enact their plans. Their first few busted, though luckily they didn't manage to stir any obvious suspicion. A failed fall trap played off as a prank, holes in the nether bridges played off as broken in crossfire, sudden lava being blamed on leakages or a misplace from someone nearby. 

Doesn't mean the failed attempts didn't frustrate the two syndicate members more and more.

They _finally_ had a solid plan, and they knew that if they got caught for this it'd be immediate prosecution, so they had to be careful. 

Ever since he got back from the fight with Dream, Tommy's felt overconfident. His golden apple addiction went down. He didn't consume many potions, if any at all. In fact, he didn't even *carry* any potions, which was what the two were planning on when they potted invisibility potions and followed Tommy into the nether.

They planned it beforehand— a carefully placed path leading to a ledge that gave them a view of every bridge stretching out from the main portal. Just like the two counted on, Tommy began walking down the bridge that would allow them to jump him— the bridge to Thickatron, Sam's house.

The two of them potted fire resistance potions, preparing to jump down and shove him off the bridge quickly (they weren't too worried. He hadn't been jumped lately, he'd be caught off guard).

As they ran and jumped off the ledge however, Niki realized something. Fundy had been shot with pinpoint accuracy in the shoulder, shooting directly through the middle of it— those arrows must've been sharpened to literal perfection with an enchanted piercing bow, considering that with Fundy's cry that means it pierced through the bone.

Though, Niki would think about that later, as she had been shot the same way, throwing her and Fundy off their balance and forcing them to twist in order to not slam into the bridge, instead letting themselves fall into the lava with the confidence that they wouldn't burn— they had 6 minutes left of their potions.

As Nki swam up to the surface of the lava she coughed out a little magma that had gotten caught in her mouth— One time Jack swallowed some lava on accident and didn't get it out of his system before the fire resistance wore off. That was one of the more slow and agonizing deaths she had witnessed.

She felt something grip her unwounded shoulder and turned around just in time to see Fundy pointing at something, and Niki began to hear it over the roar of the lava as she followed his finger.

Hasty footsteps, and a crossbow.

Somebody had sabotaged their assassination.

* * *

* * *

"Sam the man! Welcome back, mate! Where've'ya been?" Puffy greeted cheerfully, placing down the brick she was holding into it's place on the wall she was building to go greet Sam. The creeper in response smiled and waved at her with a hum, walking over and picking a few bricks up himself, as well as what seemed to be a flat, smooth knife and some sort of sediment. "Nowhere. Here, let me help."

"Ah, you don't have to, I can get this done in a day tops!" Puffy tried to ask Sam to put down the objects— She'd be fine building the therapy office on her own, before Sam just shook his head no. "No way, the sooner this is done, the better. God knows this server has a severe lack of therapists," he chuckled out, beginning to work on the opposite side of Puffy. 

The goat, in response, resolved to shrug and grab her own materials, continuing to work around where she'd put a glass frame, "Thanks, Sam! Man, feels like we're the only _actual_ adults here. I mean, Connor feels the same way we do, but he'd cry if you stared at him too long, if ya know what I mean."

Sam hummed, chuckling in amusement as he smoothed out some sediment, placing the brick carefully on top of it and slightly adjusting it into place. "Yeah, I know. And the fact that it's usually the kids that have to deal with the aftermath.. Haven't we talked about this before, actually?" Sam realizes, turning to Puffy for a moment, who just laughs.

"We've talked about it at least a million times a _day_ for the past _two weeks_ , mate! Though, I don't really mind it, I suppose," she hummed, her laughter calming down as her smile became a tad bit more strained. "It's.. a good reminder, I think. And a good way to practice for when we have to explain to others why we need this office."

After a moment of thought, Sam nodded in agreement before focusing back on the wall, allowing for the sound of the wind to occupy his mind with peaceful white noise.

He brushed off some ash and quartz bits off of his shoulder before going back to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FOUND FAMILY TROPE ENDED WITH PHILZA MINECRAFT NOW CAPTAIN PUFFY AND AWESAMDUDE ARE MY PARENTS


	2. Dad?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> niki: sam and tommy are close. if i convince sam to kill tommy, itll be so easy
> 
> sam: okay but have you considered childinnit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> much longer one this time! headin straight into it babeeyyyy

* * *

* * *

After Jack joined the team, Niki had a slight newfound hope. Although not regarded as such, she knew Jack was smart, as well as careful. He knew just what to say to the right people to get them to help him, knew when to back off to avoid fights. He was perfect for the team.

Apparently he and Fundy had beef from what they regarded as the "Jack Manifall" accident. Whenever she asked, Jack slapped a hand over Fundy's mouth before he could get a word out. That was fine, secrets were secrets.

What isn't secret, however, is how she's now on her way to Awesamdude's place to convince him to help them with killing Tommyinnit. They were close, and Niki just knew that Sam would agree that he's too stubborn to learn right now, and that they need his spirit to understand, not his mind. Besides, it'd be less painful than torturing him until he stops like _one_ green bastard.

She stood in front of the mountain which laid on top of Sam's base. It really was impressive, large and filled with supplies yet somehow cosy and comfortable. She was excited to see Fran again.

After a few knocks, the door began to slide open to reveal a tired-looking Sam. She waved at him kindly before stepping into the home with no words. Sam closed the door behind her and stiffled a quick yawn.

"Hi, Niki," he greeted lazily, his fist wiping at a dark eye, "How've you been?"

"I've been good, Sam, thank you! How about you? You look.." her words trailed off as she squinted at him. She just realized now that it didn't look like Sam just woke up, it looked like he didn't sleep _at_ _all_. "..exhausted. Are you feeling alright?"

Her hand reached up to the tall creepers forehead, but Sam just backed up with a grunt of distaste before she could feel him for a fever. That was weird, Sam _did_ like his personal space, but usually he was fine with a simple fever check.. Sam seemed to realize what had happened, bumping his forehead into her hand lazily, eyes on the ground. "Sorry.. I just have a headache, contact and movement makes it hurt a little.."

Niki didn't comment on the fact that he just moved his head greatly to avoid her hand. Maybe he just hadn't realized that that'd jostle his head as well.. he _did_ flinch after he did that. "I can make you some soup, Sam; do you have any mushrooms or animals here? I'll make chicken and mushroom soup," she offered, to which Sam contemplated his options for the moment, before nodding his head shallowly. "Sure. That'd be nice, thank you. By the way, how's your shoulder?"

Niki stiffened.

What?

She turned back to him with a small squint of suspicion. How did he know her shoulder was hurt? Sam must've realized something again, because he became quick to defend himself, "You have bandages poking out of your t-shirt. And it lags behind whenever you move," he explained, to which Niki realize she did, in fact, have some bandages peaking out from her shirt.

It hadn't been too long since she got pierced with that arrow. A week at the most. But even with that, neither Fundy or Jack knew how to do bandages that well, Niki was already hurt in her dominant shoulder, and they didn't want to bother Phil and Techno, so..

"Would you like me to, uh, redo your bandages? Before you make the soup. You need two hands to cook," Sam offered up kindly. Niki thought she heard a strain in his voice, but just blamed it on him feeling sick. Her head nodded and she smiled. "Sure. Where should I sit down?"

After a few moments of getting themselves situated, Niki was sat on a large double chest, and she took her shirt off to let Sam see her shoulder. Usually, she'd feel uncomfortable in a situation like this, but she could never think of Sam as anything but a sort of dad, so this was okay with her. Sam frowned at her shoulder, and she looked at the bandages only to realize they were bloody and unclean. "How long have you had these on?" Sam asked, concern laced in his voice. "A few days at this point.. I understand that it needs replacing, but I'm not exactly suited enough to do that at the moment and—"

She winced as Sam carefully grabbed her shoulder, and the creeper made a small hiss of regret as he pulled his hand back. "Sorry, sorry.. I'm going to take off your bandages, alright?" he warned, and Niki nodded, making a sound of disgust as Sam pealed the now sticky bandages off of her shoulder, sweat, blood and grime holding it firmly on until it was taken off to reveal a definitely infected wound. Sam made a sound of displeaser.

"Niki, I thought you knew better.." he hummed at her, and she withered a small bit under his words. Realizing how he sounded, Sam sighed and patted her head in apology. "Sorry, sorry. I shouldn't have said that; it's not like you had the most say in the matter. I don't think either of us are in the best position to make food right now, so I'll just heat up some leftovers, that sound alright?"

After a moment, Niki nodded and watched as Sam went over to a separate room to heat something up. She fidgeted in her seat, nervous. Something felt odd about this, and she was suddenly having second doubts about getting Sam on her side. But she came so far, and she knew Sam cared about her as well, so she decided to stick to the plan. As Sam came back with a first aid kit, beginning to clean whatever uninfected skin there was on her shoulder, she began to speak, "How has Tommy been doing?"

Sam freezes for a moment. Odd. But after that he simply goes back to cleaning. "He's been doing well. Sam Nook has been setting him to do tasks, I think it's helping his mental health. He's learning to do stuff on his own without having to steal."

She held back a grimace. _"Without having to steal," my ass. What about when he scammed Eret or Puffy out of those Hearts of the Sea?_ She didn't voice her disdain, however, opting to keep it to her head.

"That's nice, that's nice. I.. How would you feel if I said I had a proposition for you? One that includes Tommy and may be a solution to a lot of the problems surrounding him?"

Just like with Phil, she chose her words wisely. Lead him into it, let him know it's for Tommy. The creeper finished cleaning and went to grab a sort of cream, one that was the same shade as a healing potion, and another the shade of a regeneration. How smart, to make it so the potions could be applied to skin instead of having to down the whole thing.

"That depends, Niki," he hummed, beginning to apply the cream to her shoulder. The substance felt cool and refreshing on her previously blazing wound, and she kept herself from leaning into the touch. She needed to focus. "Depends on what, Sam?"

"Well, what is the proposition?"

She steeled herself. Go time.

"..I'd like to k—"

Before she knew it, her shoulder was burning, and she let out a surprised and pained scream as she felt it burn through both dead and alive skin, before it was suddenly gone. Sam gave her a look that she couldn't suppress a shiver from, reaching up a hand to grab onto Sam's wrist shakily. "S-Sam?" she trembled out, confused and hurt as she smelled burnt skin on her right.

"Sorry, Niki. Had to burn off some of the dead infected skin to let the layer underneath breathe," he apologized plainly, giving her shoulder a small squeeze before removing his hand. Niki's mind was racing so much she didn't even question the legitimacy of his statement. She still wanted to ask him to join them, but something told her to lay off for a bit. At least until she wasn't shaking and her voice wouldn't crack at every syllable.

A ding went off and Sam turned around, standing up and excusing himself before heading towards the sound. Probably the leftovers.

Fresh blood poured out of her wound and although she's sure Sam didn't have to take the heat that far, she was slightly glad that the puss formerly there was gone and that she didn't feel like her skin was cold stone on her shoulder. Sam came back with some food— Heated up steak, some baked potatoes and then a few apples. After a quick glance at Sam, she nervously reached down and picked up an apple, chewing it slowly as Sam began to work on her shoulder again, pressing clean, slightly damp towels against the blood before wrapping it with (presumably sanitized) medical tape. She let out another sigh of relief at the feeling, still unable to shake the feeling of dread that washed over her with every other second she spent in the vicinity of the creeper. 

"What were you gonna say?" Sam asked her, putting a bit more pressure on the tape before deciding it was tight enough and leaving it alone. Niki put her shirt back on, building the confidence to say her sentence one last time. His hands weren't on her anymore. He wouldn't hurt her.. would he?

" _I'd like to kill Tommyinnit_."

* * *

* * *

Internally, Sam sighed to himself. He _really_ wished Niki would have at least reconsidered her words, yet here they are. 

Outwardly, he feigned shock. He _could_ just reveal himself as the saboteur to the Syndicates assassination attempts, but he'd rather keep that a secret. Even if he can convince Niki to stop, there's no way Phil and Technoblade will be willing to. They both want Tommy dead, moreso than Niki, Fundy and Jack ever will.

"Niki, what?" he added a quiver to his voice, eyes widening as he takes a small step back. "What good would that do? The kid's already traumatized as it is! He can't handle any more mental torture!"

Confusion and frustration flashed across Niki's face as she slammed her hand (left hand, Sam notes. She's self aware as she's arguing this. It's not in blind rage) onto the chest below her, rattling some of the objects inside. "Sam, he's a danger to everyone in the SMP! He's caused so many wars and faced the consequences, yet he keeps doing it again! If _he_ won't listen, maybe his _spirit_ will!"

This time, Sam was genuinely shocked. That was a _horrible_ way to think things through! That's the same as saying that someone wouldn't agree to something while sober, so you'd fucking _drug_ them to get them to agree instead!

"Niki, that is a _CHILD_ that you are talking about! A child that has lost so much to death, and wanted to embrace it himself! And now that he's finally away from that thought process, you want to _force_ it onto him!? _Listen_ to yourself!"

True anger flashed across Niki's face as she grappled at Sam's hoodie, his usual gold armor not being worn to protect him from Niki's iron grip. 

She bore her teeth at him as she screamed--

" ** _I_ AM A CHILD!**"

Sam could do nothing as she went on.

" _I_ AM A CHILD! _FUNDY'S_ A CHILD! _JACK! IS! A! CHILD!_ WHY ARE WE HELD UP TO THE SAME STANDARDS AS A BUNCH OF _LITERAL WAR CRIMINALS!?_ WE ALSO LOST A LOT! WE'VE BEEN HURT! WE'VE HURT OTHERS, BUT WE _LEARNED_ FROM IT! TOMMY _NEVER HAS_!"

Tears spilled out of the girls eyes as her grip trembled and she burried her face into her hands.

"..It's not fair.. I-It's not ff-fair..."


	3. understanding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is essentially just "sam took like 20 all nighters in a row and assumed hed be fine because of his creeper status but whoop dee doo thats not how that works so he PASSED OUT"

* * *

* * *

"I-I'm a kid.."

A hiccup, a word, and that was all it took for the girl to quietly sob, bumping her head into Sam's chest weakly.

It broke him, to be quite honest, and he partially blamed himself for letting her get to this point. She _was_ right, in a sense. She was also a kid, same as Fundy and Jack. Obviously Fundy was a little older than the other two, but still, they're all pretty much fresh out of childhood. Jack's parents are unknown, Niki's are.. well, presumably dead, and Fundy's one parental figure before Eret is _definitely_ dead, though he didn't even know where the ghost version of him was, now.

None of them learned what to do in these situations. None of them learned how to cope. How to heal. Who could expect them to do it healthily if they didn't know what a healthy way to cope was in the first place?

Tommy was.. what, a year or two younger than them? Probably not even two years, actually. They were so close in age, but Sam hadn't even _considered_ doing for the other kids what he did for Tommy.. How could he have not realized?

Bringing up a careful hand, he carded his fingers through Niki's hair comfortingly, holding her head closer to his chest in a hug. Her hair was matted and knotted, as if it wasn't kept care of, he noted.

"Niki.." he mumbled, trying to think of his next words. It didn't take much time, he was good with this kind of stuff, and he thanked whatever fucked up god there was for the skill. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I completely forgot, you're not much older than him.. None of you are. I should have taken that into consideration and gone to help you all as well, and now you're angry and bitter because nobody bothered to step in."

Niki sniffled softly as Sam held her shoulders, more kindly this time, and pushed her back a bit, leaning down to meet her gaze. Her eyes were red and puffed up, she hadn't even put makeup on, he also noted. "Killing Tommy won't solve anything, but I can see why you came to that conclusion. Now that Dream's gone, things have been better, haven't you noticed?"

Niki stared him in the eyes, before looking down guiltily and nodding. "Yeah, see? Tommy wasn't the root of your problems, Dream was, and now he's locked away in a prison there's no chance of him getting out of."

After a moment of thinking, Sam lightly pushed her shoulders down for her to sit on the chest, which she did so without complaint.

"I'll let you think about what I said, alright? You're a very intelligent young lady, I don't doubt you'll make the best decision for you and your friends. How about you call Jack and Fundy over, as well? You guys all seem to be close, so I think it's a decision you should make together. I'll.." he cut himself off with a yawn, rubbing at his eyes, "I'll.. I'll try to make somethin' for all of us to eat. I don't think just some meat, poatoes and apples will be enough for all three of you."

After Niki threw him a small glance of concern and consideration, he smiled and returned to the side room, shutting the door and immediately sliding down it and wiping his hands down his face.

God, fuck. Why didn't he _realize_? They're also _kids_ , for fucks sake! He should have never held them up to the same standards as someone like Wilbur or Sapnap. In fact, isn't Quackity around their age, too? And he always seemed so stressed, he even put on a damn suit to try to fit in with everyone! He _admitted_ to Sam that he was _scared_!

Okay, maybe Sam doesn't just _partially_ blame himself.

As the creeper pushed himself up, his head began to spin. Multiple all-nighters trying to keep up with everything wasn't doing him well at all, as well as staying near that egg.. and going through a tangent that usually would happen over an hour or two in under a minute..

* * *

* * *

  
By the time Niki had finished sending Jack and Fundy a message on her communicator, she heard a crash from the side room, and jumped to her feat in surprise. Wait, Sam just headed over there!

Rushing to the room and pulling the door open (much to the disdain over her still-aching shoulder), Sam's unconscious body laid lifelessly on the floor, and Niki immediately went to feel his forehead again.

_Shoot, he's burning up..!_

Niki pulled a bed out of her inventory (she liked keeping one on her. To place down as a spawn point, in case she died and needed to get back to her items quickly) and placed it down next to a redstone lamp in the main area, picking up Sam (holy crap, are creepers seriously this heavy!?) and, with a few minutes of sheer determination, planted him on the bed. She managed to get all four of his legs up when she heard the door opening to reveal two pairs of surprised eyes.

"We got your message-- Holy shit, Sam!?" Jack shouted to Niki and Sam in surprise, rushing over with Fundy hot on his tail. "What happened!? Sam never gets sick!" Fundy demanded, feeling the creepers forehead and pulling his hand back quickly, as if the sheer temperature of Sam's forehead had burnt his hand.

"I-I don't know!" Niki responded in surprise, "He looked exhausted when I got here a-and when he went to make food for you guys, he just.. collapsed!"

"Did you at least convince him to kill Tommy with us?" Fundy asked, to which Jack Manifold wacked him upside the head for. "HEY--" 

Jack glared at Fundy, hand still raised, "That's not the main problem here, man! Do you know how to nurse creepers back to health? You're the hybrid here!"

Niki cringed slightly at his words, almost forgetting they don't know of her hybrid status. Fundy just sputtered, "I-I don't know! I'm a god damn shapeshifter, not a green explode-y boy!"

Pausing for a second, Niki clapped her hands together. "How about, uh, gun powder in pumpkin pie? He's gotta always have some pie on him for _some_ health-related reason! And the gun power part is self explanatory.."

Usually, pie was sugar-filled and not the healthiest option, but they didn't have many other options here. Fundy sprung up to his feet, "You got it!" he announced, heading to the kitchen to attempt baking some gun-powder-pumpkin pie atrocity. Niki followed soon after, leaving Jack wordlessly at Sam's side with no clue on what to do.

\--

The first thing that came to Jack's mind was getting a wet rag for Sam's burning forehead. He didn't have much, but grabbing some bandages, piling them up and wetting them was probably the best option he had at the moment, taking off his crown and lowering the cool towel onto the creepers forehead.

Sam's response was immediate, sighing in relief in his unconscious state, his eyebrows (technically eyebrows? His arches) furrowing less, but still furrowing. Considering that this dude never gets sick, it must hit _hard_ when he does.

Since Niki and Fundy were taking care of the food (he wasn't entirely sure if "taking care" of it was the accurate wording, considering the heavy amounts of bickering coming from the kitchen), he decided to make it his task to make sure Sam was well hydrated. Since the guy was sweating a lot, and his fur (again, fur??? He doesn't know creeper terminology!) seemed dry, water was probably a complete necessity at the moment. He pulled out a water bottle and led it to the creepers mouth, encouraging him to try to drink some, which, thankfully, he did. He seemed to be pretty docile in a sick state.. hm.

After a few more minutes of getting Sam to drink something, the others came rushing out of the kitchen, dulled orange colored pie in hand. "FUNDY BE CAREFUL WITH THAT YOU'RE GONNA DROP IT!" Niki shouted from behind Fundy, who was currently in a rush to get the pie to Sam's side. 

When he thought about it, Jack started to realize something. "Hey, guys?" he asked, to which the other two snapped out of their panicked hazes to look up at him. "You ever notice how we all just.. really like Sam? I mean, everyone does, but it's sorta.. just hitting me now."

Grabbing a butter knife and slicing into the pie, Niki hummed nervously. "I.. suppose. I sorta view him like a dad. He's always there for me when I need him, and he'll answer all my questions to the best of his abilities. Actually," she put a thin slice of pie on a separate plate, "that's part of what he wanted to talk about with you guys here."

Niki quickly explained what happened before Fundy and Jack showed up. How he changed her bandages and making them food despite feeling unwell himself, how he was upset at the proposal, how she went off on him afterwards (she admitted it with shame in her voice and a tremble in her hands that kinda broke Jack's heart), and how he passed out after apologizing for not being there for them.

The three of them thought in silence for a moment, Sam's slightly labored breaths and the buzz of the redstone lamps being the loudest noises in the room. Fundy wad the one to speak up first.

"If we don't kill Tommy.. I-I don't know what I'll do."

Jack spoke up next.

"But why do we _have_ to kill Tommy? He's just been minding his own business ever since Dream got put in jail."

"Because--!" Fundy wanted to continue on before stopping himself short, and Jack could only guess why. _'Because he's the brother of my dead father'? 'My dad died for the land that Tommy kept just fighting and fighting for'? 'Because Wilbur gave Tommy more attention as a big brother than he ever gave to me as a father'?  
_

Whatever it was, Fundy bit his lip before it could continue. Niki seemed to understand the same as Jack, giving him a somber look.

It was Niki who spoke up last.

"If we stop now, the Syndicate will hunt us down," she mumbled, biting the inside of her cheek in thought. "Philza and Technoblade won't let people with knowledge of it leave so easily. Unless they want it to be publicly known, stopping our attempts of killing Tommy and leaving the Syndicate will put us and Sam in more danger than ever before."

She lifted up her head, meeting Jack and Fundy's gazes nervously.

"What do we do?"

* * *

* * *

**_TRAITOR NIKI!!! NIKI'S LEAVING THE SYNDICATE! NIKKIS TAKING JACK AND FUNGI DOWN WITH HER!! Traitor Nikki PPOOOOOOGG. AWESAMDAD. /rainbowchat. AWESAMDAD AWESAMDAD. ❤️MOD SUPPORT❤️ BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD. E. E. E. E. BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD. E. wait what's happening i joined stream late. TRAITOR NIKKI. E. E. THEY BETRAYED THE SYNDICATE! E. E. E. E. /rainbowchat /rainbowchat_ **

His head pounded as Chat shouted, rubbing his temples to smooth the pain of hundreds of thousands of voices giving him a disgustingly familiar headache. "Slow down," he mumbled to them, "What are you saying? Niki betrayed E? You're overlapping again."  
  


"What was that, mate?" Phil's concerned voice came from the kitchen as he poked his head into the living room, spatula in hand. "Chat acting up again?"  
  


Techno nodded slowly, any faster and he's pretty sure his head would fall off his neck. "Saying Niki betrayed the Syndicate, or somethin'.." he mumbled, clutching his head in his hands. He hated when they got like this. Occasionally, it wouldn't be a complete nuisance, like when they shouted in his support during his duel with Dream, or when they cheered for him as he won the Great Potato War, but right now it was just loud and _annoying_. 

"That can't be right," Phil commented, going back to whatever he was making for dinner. "She was being truthful to us the entire time. Either chat's lying, she's being forced out, or someone's just convinced her to leave, yeah?"  
  
"They're saying Jack and Fundy are leaving too."  
  


"Ah."

The two anarchists stood in silence for a moment. Well, one of them did. The other had to deal with all these annoying voices. One of them spoke up over all the others, harsh with it's words but firm in it's voice.

**_[$20 Donation]_ **

**_Sam is convincing them to find healthier coping mechanisms. How's it feel to get one-upped by a capitalist creeper?_ **

If Techno were the kind of guy to swear he would've told the guy to piss off, but honestly, the leave made sense. When Niki honestly decided to join the Syndicate, he knew it wouldn't be long lasting. She's strong as hell, but if a better, less violent choice were open to her, he knew she'd take it. And considering how close she is with Jack and Fundy, them following close behind didn't seem all too unpredictable.

What wasn't predictable, however, was if they'd spill about the Syndicate. They knew of its members, its founders, its location.. That definitely wasn't good.

**_TRAITOR TRIO! TRAITOR TRIO! BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD. WHAT WOULD THEIR NAMES MIXED TOGETHER BE?? TRAITOR TRIO!! E. E. TRAITOR NIKI FUNDY JACK! E. NI FU CK! NIFUCK! NIFUCK. TRAITOR NIFUCK. TRAITOR NIFUCK. THEY'LL TELL! KILL THEM! SPILL THEIR BLOOD! NIFUCK_ **

The piglin stood up, marking his place in his book (Not The Art Of War this time, surprisingly. He's been reading some books from the library in the stronghold, curious about what runes lied within the old, crusted pages) and placing it down on the couch, before heading to the kitchen to see what Phil was making. Phil seemed to be talking softly to his own voices, even chuckling a few times at some jokes they've made. Techno envied Phil, and this was the only time he'd ever admit to that.

He's heard Phil's voices before, they're a lot kinder. They call him Dadza a lot. A lot of them kinda just sound like traumatized teenagers looking for comfort in Phil, which Techno couldn't blame. Considering that he was.. what, 13? 14? When they made the Antartic Empire, he understood how they flocked to him like a father. He sure knows he did.

The fresh smell of warm chicken soup filled his nose, temporarily distracting him from the banging of voices in his mind. Sometimes, just sometimes, they would quiet down. He thinks it has something to do with Phil's chat, as he's heard Phil instruct for them to "purge the weak" before. He would be forever grateful to Phil for that.

Sitting down at the table, he unclipped his cape and left it hanging on the back of the chair, wondering what he would do about the defected Syndicate members. They weren't _too_ big of a deal, but having them spill about their whereabouts would be annoying. They already had to deal with some weird god getting annoyed at them for their base location, who knows how the people who could _actually_ be affected by the Syndicate would react?

Phil knocked him out of his thoughts when he placed a bowl of steaming soup in front of him, and for a moment he was relaxed. "So, my guys have been telling me about it. They left the Syndicate, yeah?"

Techno nodded.

"Mm.. I wouldn't worry too much about it. I don't think they'd tell everyone about the Syndicate, specially considering that they're probably scared shitless at us."

"That's true.." Techno mumbled, taking a spoonful of the soup into his mouth. Usually you'd have to wait for the temperature to drop as to not burn yourself, but being a piglin has its perks. "What if they _do_ , though?"

Phil shrugged. "They're probably too busy taking care of that weird egg to care about us." After a moment of blowing on a spoon of soup, Phil ate a bit of his and continued on. "Imagine how many omelets you could make with that thing. I'm pretty sure we'd be good on egg-related food for life."

The piglin snorted in response, downing the rest of his soup and sighing. "By the way, how are your wings?"

Phil hummed, lightly stretching out a wing. Techno would never admit it, but Phil's wings truly were a sight to behold. Black as dark as night, with pure gold colored feathers sticking out at the bottom. When they finally healed after the explosion, Dream reminded him of the rules, and he wanted to murder the green bastard then and there for coming to clip Phils wings. Phil did it himself, in the end, but the fact that he had to in the first place filled Techno with unbridled rage.

"Doin' better. My flight feathers should be back in a few days, I'd say. Dream being locked up means we don't have to follow his dumb rules anymore, y'know? Kinda dumb, though, that he made me follow his rules, when he couldn't even follow his own."

Yeah. Dream _did_ suck at that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the ending is a little weak but i wanted it to sort of come off as "oh they dont really give a shit huh"
> 
> btw to those warning me about my work being plagiarized, thank you! honestly im surprised anyone would actually do that, especially to a small creator on ao3, but thank you for the warnings nonetheless! when i went to check it out, the work had already been deleted. again thank you for everyone who told me :]


	4. serious chapter

guys we gotta have the talk. i mean The Talk the talk.

every single chapter. EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER i have to explain (calmly, by the way, which is very frustrating) that

**NIKI JACK AND FUNDY ARE STILL FUCKING KIDS, JUST _NOT IN THE LEGAL AGE SENSE_**

please. oh my god. turning 18 doesnt suddenly make you have the mind of an old wise man about to send you on a journey after warning you of The Dangers he's seen

just read this god damn article I'm so fucking tired

<https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=141164708>

this is such a huge problem in this fandom and im tired of it. im TIRED OF IT. yall are SO okay with having traumatized kids be traumatized in the ✨ _aesthetic_ ✨ way of dramatic crying and found family that when a character reacts to trauma in a non-aesthetic way suddenly its SO HORRIBLE and OH HOW COULD THEY DO SUCH A THING

TRAUMA EXISTS. TRAUMA EXISTS FOR _**EVERYONE**_. EVERYONE REACTS DIFFERENTLY.

NO, VIOLENTLY REACTING TO IT IS NOT OKAY! YOU THINK THEY FUCKING KNOW THAT, THOUGH? HELL NO. SO STOP ACTING LIKE THEY DO.

im so fucking tired yall. i bet you guys are the type to call the cops on someone whos having a mental breakdown

(obviously not all of you, some of you are understanding and realize all this, but the rest of yall gotta open your minds a lil istg. you have brains. use em)


End file.
